Rugby World Cup 2011: I knew it was serious because of the pain, says New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter

At an emotionally-taut press conference, All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter on
Monday described the “gut-wrenching” moment when he realised that the focal
point of all his thoughts and actions for the past four years had been taken
away from him.

He revealed that the groin injury which caused him to collapse to the ground in an agonised heap during a training session on Saturday was without obvious cause. And so, “one of the craziest days” in Carter’s life came to pass.

He had decided to kick only four balls in training, well below his normal quota. Some are felled in bone-crunching collision; some in the throes of optimum athletic performance. Carter, though, was laid low in a moment of mundane simplicity, betrayed by fate. Judging by his testimony, the ordinariness made it all the worse.

The day began with him being named All Blacks captain for the first time in his career as a stand-in for the injury-rested Richie McCaw and ended with him alone in his hotel bedroom raging against the gods who had struck him down.

“I knew it was pretty serious just because of the pain,” said a befuddled Carter, trying to make sense of the incomprehensible. “After kicking a ball it just popped and I went down on the ground in agony. Obviously, it’s gut-wrenching, just the pure randomness of the injury and for it to come out of the blue.

"My body was really good leading into the week and it was good all week. I haven’t had any groin or abductor or hip problems in the past. So for something like this to happen is really tough. I can’t put my finger on why and I’m constantly asking why did this happen and I don’t have the answer.”

That he was still searching for some sort of rational explanation was clear from his demeanour; part upbeat and stoical, part on the point of crumpled despair. Carter, 29, would have given anything not to be sitting in front of an array of cameras and microphones.

“I thought it was quite unusual, I’ve kicked thousands of balls,” said Carter who has amassed a world record 1,250 points. “It felt like it popped, hence going down to the ground in agony. It’s quite hard to explain. I was just going through my usual routine.

"It was a pretty tough night [on Saturday] knowing my World Cup was over. It’s a little bit different behind closed doors. I tend to let out my frustration a lot. Lying in bed on Saturday night was pretty tough, looking back at one of the craziest days of my life.

"To be named All Black captain – something very special – and to have that taken away from you through an injury and then later to find out that my dream of being involved in the World Cup was now over.”

Carter’s tenure with the All Blacks squad will soon be at an end. As he himself noted, they need to move on, just as their quarter-final opponents on Sunday, Argentina, have done, shrugging off the loss of playmaker Juan Martín Hernández before the tournament began as well as that of their talismanic No 8, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, last week.

“Being around the team spurs me on to think positively and help them out in whatever way,” said Carter. “Moping about is not going to help them.”

Carter has already had exchanges with Colin Slade, the backup fly-half, to encourage him to embrace the moment and not be daunted by it, which is easier said than done.

The New Zealand assistant coach, Steve Hansen, was quick to curtail the sentiment and emphasise the need to project forward. “Colin Slade needs to understand first of all that he’s Colin Slade, he doesn’t have to be Dan Carter,” he added.

Nobody is, not least Slade, which is why New Zealand’s status as favourites has narrowed. Carter may be gone but the significance of his absence remains.